The Queen of the Sea
by the-perfect-girl-is-gone
Summary: Desperate to save her drowning love, Anna dives into the ocean to find a world down there that she didn't know existed. (Elsanna, all rights go to Disney)
1. Chapter 1

"I can't wait for you to meet my family." A man clad in royal clothing stood next to a person dressed in a tunic. They leaned against the bow of the ship, arms intertwined with each other, giving the impression of two men being together.

"I know…" She whispered, "But do I really have to be dressed like this?" Her long auburn locks had been wound up and tucked under a hat, giving her the appearance of a boy. The prince took her hands in his and squeezed them gently.

"It helps ease their suspicions. They're old-fashioned and think a woman on the ship is bad luck." She groaned at his reply.

"But I'm your girlfriend, Hans. Couldn't we just tell them to suck it up?"

"Anna, is that how a princess speaks?" His dark eyes watched her intently, giving off the impression of sparkling emeralds.

"Kristof never made me take etiquette lessons. I was born with manners." Looking away from Hans, her smile widened when she felt his hands snake around from behind her.

"Sometimes I question your brother's decisions." He started to lead her across the deck of the ship. "Let us go to our rooms." As they walked, he was telling her about things they would do in his kingdom once they arrived. As Hans spoke, Anna was lost in her thoughts. She wished for a moment that he wasn't so… _royal. _She wanted him to relax, and be himself with her. Admittedly, she was attracted to his gentlemanliness, but after growing up with a brother like Kristof, she felt out of place with a charming man like Hans. Shaking those intruding thoughts from her head, she noticed that they were approaching a set of doors. Hans explained that one was his room, and the other would be hers. Since they weren't married, _yet_, Anna added, it would be disrespectful for them to share a room. Anna pointed out that she looked like a man, and Hans implied that being caught with a man was worse. Feeling slightly dejected, Anna tucked her head and went into her room.

Once she had gotten herself settled and was sitting comfortably on the bed against the wall, she recounted her life in the past two months. Hans had met her in the town and upon discovering that she was of royal blood, he started courting her. They had been together for two months, so far, and when he began to miss home, she offered to travel with him. Which brought her to this moment, dressed like a boy, in a room separate from Hans'.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Anna pressed her ear to the door, and the shouting increased. She had been awoken by the clamor, and curiosity pulled her outside her room. The sun was setting, it's last lights illuminating the sky with golds and pinks. But that wasn't what she was looking at. Nearly every single man on board was fighting another man.

_Pirates_.

After taking another look around the ship, she realized that wasn't the case. They were fighting their own crewmen, keeping them from jumping ship. A splash turned her attention to the few that were throwing themselves overboard.

_Hans_.

She saw a flash of red hair and a white suit disappear from sight. Turning to his room, she saw the door was ajar. He wasn't there.

"Hans!" Dodging pairs of men grappling with each other, she reached the side of the boat, where she had last seen his familiar sideburns. There were maybe ten men in the water, but she watched as they all slowly disappeared from sight, being pulled under by some unforeseeable force. Finally, she spotted Han's mop of red hair. Without a second thought, she leapt over board. Instead of taking etiquette lessons, like she mentioned earlier, she had taken swimming lessons. Expertly avoiding all the other men trying to stay afloat, she swam over to Hans. But he hadn't heard her; despite the countless times she'd called his name. His eyes remained glued on something beneath the blue water that she couldn't see. Suddenly, a pair of slender hands reached up and grasped his shoulders, pulling him underwater.

"Hans!" She was only able to call out for him one more time before she was dragged down as well. Struggling to keep her eyes open, the salt stung and she tried to blink away the pain. Hans was still next to her, now he was fighting for his life. The shock of losing air had brought him back to his senses. But when he looked down, he seemed surprised at what he saw. Anna looked down to see that the same thing was dragging them down. No. The same person, if she was even a person. Anna had gathered that it was female, her teal eyes pierced Anna's, and the color matched her tail.

_Her tail_.

Anna lost the last of her air when she realized it was a mermaid. As she struggled to get back to the surface her auburn hair unraveled from its bun, billowing in the water. The woman still kept her eyes locked with Anna's, and they widened when she saw that Anna was a girl. Bubbles came from her lips, which seemed to say 'Oh'. Suddenly, Anna's hair was mixed with blonde hair. The creature had stopped pulling them under, and now was taking them towards the surface. Hans had succumbed to the loss of air, but Anna still held on, transfixed by what she saw before her. It had taken the girl's hand and pulled her up by it, grasping it firmly.

Air filled her lungs as she coughed out the water in her lungs. The men onboard had somehow gotten their sense back and threw a rope to Anna and Hans. Slinging the love of her life over her shoulder, she grabbed the rope, only to realize that her left hand was still occupied. The slender fingers wrapped around hers, as if it was trying to memorize the feeling before she let go.

Once on board, she watched as the men tried to bring their prince back to consciousness. Avoiding the glares of the sailors who blamed her for the misfortune that had befallen them all, she diverted her eyes to the sea. Hoping to see the thing that had saved her. Her eyes met a pair of bright blue eyes, and they blinked and disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Drying her hair with a towel, Anna sat by Hans' side, waiting for him to wake up. They were able to get him breathing and his heart pumping, but he hadn't opened his eyes yet. She had stationed herself at the desk in his room when her eyes caught a book on the shelf. She figured this was the captain's room, due to the maps strewn across the walls and the measuring tools. Naturally, royalty got the best rooming, she felt a pang of disdain towards Hans, but shoved it aside. Placing her attention on the book that she had grabbed. Her hand traced the impressions of the title into the red leather. _Creatures of the Sea_. Anna listened to the steady breath of the other person in the room and opened the book. _Selkies. _No, the woman was part human. _Sirens_. It didn't make sense, there were no rocks for the ship to crash on, and Anna couldn't recall hearing any singing. _Nereids. _It was possible, they were said to be friendly, but weren't they being drowned at first? _Merpeople. _Her eyes brightened when she found what she was looking for. _Mermaids._ They were beautiful half-people, half-fish that drowned men. Something clicked, that's why the woman tried to drown her at first, and she had thought Anna was a man. The only reason Hans was alive was because of her! Feeling a slight surge of pride, Anna looked over to her sweetheart, only to have her spirits brought down by the fact Hans hadn't stirred.

Shutting the book, she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. The first thing she saw was the woman. The light bounced off of the water and her white hair. A sly grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. Her lips were surprisingly red and her cheeks were flushed. The blue tint of the water brought out all these features. With a jolt, Anna realized that nothing covered her chest except for her hair. Deciding to focus on her tail instead, Anna rummaged around for a pencil and a blank piece of paper. Trying to draw her thoughts out, her hand dashed around, and off the paper. Letting out a small squeak, she looked at her shoulder to find a gloved hand there. Hans had finally awoken.

"I see you decided to join us!" She folded the paper quickly and pocketed it. He didn't notice. He didn't reply. Anna's eyes searched his face for emotion. He looked horrible. Dark circles hid his eyes, and his hair was covered with specks of salt.

"I feel horrible." His voice was raw. He leaned against the wall, trying to regain balance. She got up to help him to the bed.

"I mean, you did almost drown, if it wasn't for me." That last part slipped out and Anna watched as Hans slowly became embarrassed at the fact that a woman was the reason he still existed.Well, a woman besides his mother. "I'm still excited to meet your family. And all your brothers!" She was trying to cheer him up by telling him about the things he was looking forward to. "I hear the beaches are really great in the Southern Isles." Hans shuddered at the idea of being near water, despite the fact they were on a boat at the moment.

Itching his sideburns, he turned to look to Anna. Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the captain telling them the ship had arrived.

Anna had discovered that all of the sailors had silently agreed that there was a horrible storm that swept eight good men off the ship. Only two were rescued, and one of them turned out to be a woman. No one mentioned beautiful women fish luring the men into the water. The princess had to try to remind herself that she had actually met a gorgeous mermaid who saved her. Refusing to be brainwashed by the crewmen's silence she waited for Hans outside his room for him to dress. Anna had tucked her drawing away in her chest and changed into a dress. Upon hearing a familiar voice, she stopped waiting for Hans to find that he was already engaging with people on the dock. Wearing a nearly identical suit to the one he had almost drowned in, he greeted his brothers one by one. The auburn haired girl was unnerved. Just moments ago, he barely had any energy and wasn't sociable. The Hans she saw before her seemed inauthentic. As if he was able to pull his royal personality out of thin air. Suddenly, his family crowded her, all giving warm regards. Unable to keep track of his twelve brothers' names, Anna just nodded and made small remarks until she was shown her room. Luckily, she wasn't eating with the royal family that night, Hans was also thankful for that. Before she went into her room, she noticed that Hans had let go of his royal air when his family left, revealing how truly fatigued he was. With a wry smile at his sweetheart, he went into his room and the door clicked shut.

Flinging herself on her bed, she was emotionally and physically drained from the last two days. But the sound of the waves crashing on the beach drew her. Wearing more accommodating clothes, she had grabbed some towels and blanket and crept through the halls and out the first door she saw. It was dark out, but the moon helped her find her way from the castle to the sand. She sat there and watched the water with the blankets wrapped around her. She stared until her eyes became bleary. Eyelids drooping, she fell asleep on the beach.

Hans found her the next day after he had discovered her empty room. Expecting the worst, he followed the footsteps outside her room to the beach. With a relieved sigh, the prince carried the princess back to her bedroom.

A pair of fins slapped against the water and a teal tail dove into the water.


End file.
